Best Linn: Lions of Oregon take down nation's No. 1 team to claim LSI title. ‘We just shocked the country’

By Bob Lundeberg | Photos by Naji Saker  

HILLSBORO — West Linn had one more surprise up its sleeve to close the 26th Les Schwab Invitational.

Twenty-four hours after upsetting Sierra Canyon and Bronny James in stunning fashion, the Lions pulled off arguably the biggest upset in LSI history Friday night at Liberty High School in Hillsboro, Oregon. Jackson Shelstad capped his LSI run for the ages with a 30-point outburst as West Linn took down national No. 1 Duncanville, 62-50, before another capacity crowd.

The Lions join Beaverton (1996), Jefferson (1999), Jesuit (2003) and Lake Oswego (2012) on the list of Oregon teams to win the LSI title. 

“This means everything,” said Shelstad, who received tournament MVP honors after averaging 33 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists over four games. “Nobody thought West Linn was going to come in and win this, and I think we just shocked the country.”

>> Everything you missed in the 2022 Les Schwab Invitational

Sierra Canyon, ranked 16th nationally in the SBLive/Sports Illustrated Power 25, settled for jump shots in the semifinal as undersized West Linn packed the paint with a zone defense. The majority didn’t fall in an 86-69 Lions victory. 

Top-ranked Duncanville was more aggressive in attacking the rim, but the reigning Texas Class 6A state champions still took more three-pointers (27) than twos (25). The Panthers went 14 of 25 from inside the arc and 6 of 27 from long range in their first loss of the season.

“Coach (Robert) Key put in a great 1-2-2 for these national teams because they’re a lot bigger than us,” senior forward Mark Hamper said. “We ran it last week in the Capitol City Classic great, so we felt like we had something we could show these teams that we could play great defense out of. And that’s what we did all week long in this tournament.”

Added Key: “It was a grind at first, understanding the assignments. But once they got it and saw the team in person, it made all the sense in the world.”

Shelstad again paced the Lions (11-0) with 30 points and eight rebounds while Adrian Mosley added 14 points, six rebounds, three assists and six steals. Drake Gabel was also huge with six points, eight rebounds and two assists.

Texas-bound forward Ron Holland carried Duncanville (15-1) with 24 points, 12 rebounds and three assists. Fellow bigs KJ Lewis and Cameron Barnes added eight rebounds apiece, but West Linn was once again competitive on the boards against a much larger team. The Panthers won the rebounding battle 37-34.

“Our team is a really gritty team,” Mosley said. “We’re never going to back down from anybody. We’re real fundamental, paying attention to boxing out and just trying to get loose balls. And I feel like we did a good job of that.”

Holland scored seven quick points as Duncanville stormed out to a 10-2 lead, but West Linn answered with an 8-0 run to even the score. The Lions’ first made three-pointer since the quarterfinals — West Linn was 0 for 12 from distance against Sierra Canyon — tied it at 21-21, and Shelstad gave his team a 29-25 halftime advantage with a pull-up 18-footer. 

Duncanville briefly went back on top early in the third when Holland fed Lewis for a dunk that made it 33-31. The rest of the night belonged to West Linn.

The Lions closed the period on a 19-4 run, capped by a Mosley and-one baseline jumper over Holland and a Max Juhala buzzer-beating three-pointer on a ball that hot-potatoed from Shelstad to Mosley to Gabel to the junior lefty.

“We were up at half and we kind of had a lead most of the game, so we didn’t need to force anything,” Shelstad said. “We made them play at our speed and we got the shots we wanted.”

The Panthers cut the deficit to 54-47 with 2:35 remaining, but Sam Leavitt converted a layup off a nice pass from Hamper on West Linn’s next possession. The Lions got a stop on the other end and salted it away at the free throw line.

West Linn went 17 of 21 from the line while Duncanville finished 4 of 7. Panthers head coach Neiman Ford and his staff were not happy with the free throw and foul disparity (18 to 7). 

Key said inducing jump shots from Duncanville, Sierra Canyon and St. John Bosco — another California power that fell to West Linn in the Capitol City Classic final — was a big part of their plan. 

“These kids, they stepped up to the challenge, man,” Key said. “That’s all you can ask for as a head basketball coach. It’s a passion of mine, and it’s a passion of theirs, too. The winning tradition at West Linn continues on.”

The Lions’ five starters played all but nine minutes in their semifinal victory. Hamper, Mosley and Shelstad didn’t leave the floor Friday, and Gabel played 30 minutes in the win. 

“I’m pretty dead now; I think most of the other guys are,” Shelstad said. “But we handled business tonight, and that’s all that matters.”

Hamper said he had closely watched Duncanville all tournament and was impressed with the team’s size and athleticism. He knew West Linn had the toughness required to overcome the Panthers’ physical advantages.

“Obviously their length is a problem, but we’ve got heart,” Hamper said. “We’re a bunch of dogs, so we’re just going to fight all day, and that’s what we did. It ended up working well.

“We just wanted to shock the world and prove everyone wrong. All this Bronny hype, we wanted some hype ourselves, so we had to create it.”

Mission accomplished. 

“It's a really special feeling,” Mosley said. “We just stayed the course, and there are very big things in our future.”

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